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You know, maybe we're overthinking this. I say we start going back and looking through the old and new sci-fi movies and TV shows and find what makes sci-fi sci-fi. I remember how awesome Adventurers was because it was a take on Indiana Jones but wasn't bogged down by the details the way the licensed sets were; the same thing goes for Classic Space and Star Trek, to a degree. LEGO needs to find a franchise or two or three they can mix together and then rip offlovingly parody. Once they do that, they'll have a winner.

On that note, does anyone else thing the original Stargate transport concept would be awesome in a new LEGO space theme?

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A fresh angle could be adapting an old sci-fi comic book theme, similar along the lines of Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers....old school space ships, ray guns and an evil ruler of a alien planet wanting to rule the universe.....then a minifig hero and crew rise up to fight this evil foe.

I would love a Buck Rogers-esque space theme. The rocket build in the MBA Space Designer Kit replicates that retro feel really well; I'd like to see more like it.

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Tons of good ideas in this thread, I can only hope that TLG eventually releases more space themes. I have to admit that I am really disappointed that AC isn't seeing new sets, I spent the majority of my Lego budget last year on the entire line, buying multiples of each...

However, I do think that if TLG were to make some sets around the "Space Marines" concept; for example if this CUUSOO Project reached 10,000 supporters, I could see a few sets produced involving the CM design.

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However, I do think that if TLG were to make some sets around the "Space Marines" concept; for example if this CUUSOO Project reached 10,000 supporters, I could see a few sets made but they would probably make use of the CM design.

snip

While I do love the Collectible Minifig "Galactic Patrol" figure, one of the offical LEGO comments on the CUUSOO project (which I'm supporting, BTW) reads as follows:

"Congratulatory message from LEGO for +500 votes

2012/03/05

Congratulations on all of the supporters! We're quite impressed with the quality of work and the level of thought that has gone into making this concept a legitimate contender for an official LEGO theme.

We could go on and on about the details and how cool we think this is. The helmet design is truly unique and it would be great to see that as a LEGO element. You've done a great job designing uniforms and decorations that fit the LEGO company style. Also, the concept models are just the right degree of complexity for official models. It's clear you've put thought into the scope and presentation of your concept.

Best of luck on your journey to 10,000 supporters!

The LEGO CUUSOO Team"

(Bold font added by me)

As you can see, TLG seems to highly approve of the helmet design, which would have uses elsewhere, I'm sure, so who knows...

Edited March 27, 2012 by MacocoPicture removed, no need to quote the picture in the next post

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While I do love the Collectible Minifig "Galactic Patrol" figure, one of the offical LEGO comments on the CUUSOO project (which I'm supporting, BTW) reads as follows:

As you can see, TLG seems to highly approve of the helmet design, which would have uses elsewhere, I'm sure, so who knows...

That might be true, but to the date the CUUSOO site has made use of the "concepts" that gain the 10,000 supporters, if you take a look at the three CUUSOO products to date you will see that not one of them are exact reproductions but they just made use of the "concept" that was submitted. So you can just imagine, should the "Space Marines" project reach 10,000 and enter the review stage, the designers at TLG could easily decide to drop the helm, armor and carbine and just reuse the existing "Galaxy Patrol" CM. In new colors perhaps too.

The CMF figure is basically a Marine from StarCraft. A theme with that kind of vibe would be beyond cool, although it might be a little overly military.

Still, it's great to hear that LEGO seems so open to another original Space theme. There's some hope for 2013!

I think they could probably tone it down as a Classic Space 2.0 or similar type theme.

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So many superb ideas here, great thread! Those space marines are incredible. Yes to neo M Tron and exploriens, I love those simple play features.

The problem I have with "Space Police" and the other "classic" themes is that they are too one-dimensional and lacking some depth. So I'd like to see more factions, especially fancy aliens.

Yes! Good humans, bad humans, neutral humans, greedy and morally flexible humans. Red, yellow, blue, black, white? Whe I saw the first shots for AC I really hoped the alien commander genotype was a chaotic rogue alien faction fighting the uglies on Earth's behalf, but, no, just another green baddie. Lego's HR department must a be pretty tough place for green aliens. Earth colonials have got it coming to them, the distinct freedom-loving alien factions should team up and force some aggressive negotiations.

.. salvage/rescue team and then the space pirates trying to get a piece of the action.

Yes and yes. Like in Neuromancer. Space rasta pirates. And a space rasta pirate monkey, if you must. I would prefer a space rasta pirate dog.

Ninjago 2012 has lovely parts and just needs a little nudge to build the perfect neo insectoids set, a giant green praying mantis insecto-base. Head is a detachable stubby double-bubble delta fighter. One arm is a super cannon and the other is a salvage claw. Body is a research lab cum buggy carrier, revealed when the wings spread out. Legs could be motorised like a zoid or AT-AT. Pilots are Twitch-headed. Doesn't have to be aligned with anyone. I want to build this but probably I'll never get round to it.

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... continuing my thoughts from another thread (because this one is probably more appropriate!).

I'd really like to see some kind of Colonization and Exploration theme. Colonies struggling in harsh conditions is a common trope in Science Fiction and some elements of recent lines make me think it could work really well. Buildings and vehicles could be somewhat modular. There's room for both civilians (even families) and action figures. Conflict comes from the environment itself rather than a specific "enemy".

I think there's this sort of rugged aesthetic that appears in a lot of the sets at the moment that would be really suited to this kind of thing. From City you have the forest stuff and soon the mining line which is just all a bit chunkier and more rugged than other sets. Alien Conquest's mobile HQ, the Dino Line, and even the 4X4 in one of the recent Marvel sets all have this more solid look that with a unified colour scheme would work really well And S7 Space Marines instead of traditional Astronauts for guards. I just really like the idea of something like the Earth Defence HQ as a kind of mobile, lab/living space. With a couple of scientists, and a couple of marines along for the ride to protect them.

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A fresh angle could be adapting an old sci-fi comic book theme, similar along the lines of Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers....old school space ships, ray guns and an evil ruler of a alien planet wanting to rule the universe.....then a minifig hero and crew rise up to fight this evil foe.

agree with this, retro sci-fi is awesome such as alien conquest. Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers could be a great lines, or maybe John Carter?

personally, i'd love to see Blacktron again or Alien Conquest sequel

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I think whatever they might do has to be obviously distinguishable from Star Wars. There's probably a contract somewhere that says TLG can't do anything too close to Star Wars ideas in case kids get confused or something. This must make coming up with fresh but different ideas a challenge for the designers.

Retro-space (Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, steam-punk) would be great but probably wouldn't appeal to kids. I'd love to see something with the new space marine figure/armour (it's already been used on a Lex Luthor promo fig so they obviously have the mould). As someone suggested you would have the explorers, the marine protecting them, then maybe an update of Blacktron (of which there have been 'nods' to in the CMF and SP3 figs). If this all got too dull then you just throw in a major threat like giant space bugs... and everyone clubs together to fight them and save the galaxy.

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Retro-space (Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, steam-punk) would be great but probably wouldn't appeal to kids.

I dont know... my kids realy love Alien Conquest, which has a rather retro feel to it too... Though, they go more for the ADU stuff, while I already knew I would get the alien saucers, the real "retro" aspect in the line, the first moment I did seem some leaked pictures.

So why not something inspired by above mentioned examples? Its true, for most kids those series or movies wont mean a thing, but, it doesnt need to be something licensed. Preferably not. Just inspired by.. the general feel.

In fact, what I would like to see is a Lego product line based on the Trigan Empire comics of the 70's - 80's?

It has all for a wide range of Lego fans: spaceships, different (alien) races, monsters and dragons, futuristic and classical buildings, references to ancient Roman and Greek.. I guess there is there something for everybody, except city fans..

Or, if some Lego executive decided there is need for an AFOLs only line: what about Barbarella??

Nebular Pirates would be a mismash of heavily armed and armored gangster types. some would be green to cater to the space orks group. some in tan, some in purple (we're still missing dark purple heads), with alien prints.

we'll need alien prints for the good guys too...after all, not all humans are good guys and vice versa.

maybe reuse the purple pimper head in space police 3. that's a very good head mold since it is almost identical to a normal mf head.

Nebular Pirates would be a mismash of heavily armed and armored gangster types. some would be green to cater to the space orks group. some in tan, some in purple (we're still missing dark purple heads), with alien prints.

we'll need alien prints for the good guys too...after all, not all humans are good guys and vice versa.

maybe reuse the purple pimper head in space police 3. that's a very good head mold since it is almost identical to a normal mf head.

I would buy this until TLG's stock ran out, if I could.

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With all the talk of "bring it back" as it were to the older themes, I'd rather something new. but on the other hand, what else is there to do that's actually doable? Space marines, too bloody violent for the lego groups. I personally, would like to see a space salvage crew or something. Sort of like the old rescue sets from way back when, sure it's a rehash, but more with a space theme. Space Police 3 captured the awesome that was space police 1 and 2, at least in my book, and I spent my hard earned money for a majority of the sets, but maybe a space emergency response team to go along with 'em. Maybe throw in "Space pirates" as the villians, so you'd have the salvage/rescue team and then the space pirates trying to get a piece of the action.

maybe add a space monkey to the line up. Cause I mean who doesn't like monkeys?

I think there would be a huge niche to bring back /update some of the classis ideas and sets. A fully modernized Galaxy Explorer is the key item.

But with that said. I think some sort of space marines has the most possibilities. As far as violence, it depends on what the enemy is. If they go for something like Heinlein's classic bugs it would be perfect. Just look at all the brick built giant spiders and such lately. Build the enemy around he. Use the space armors and done

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This is where I'd like space to go. CMF Galactic patrol style guys in Different colours and with bigger guns. Classic space logo is a must. They guard a space prison. A proper fortress type place not just a feeble holding cell. Somewhere with high security and really scary looking villains:

1) A thing with many tentacles and whiplash poisonous tongue.

2) An oversized figure with porcupine quills and nasty sharp claws and teeth.

3) A bunch of little furry critters who can click together combining to form a bigger nastier creature.

4) A limbless thing with wings and razor sharp beak and tail.

5) A multi-legged insectoid creature that spits venom.

6) A brain looking thing in a jar hooked up to a half-track mini vehicle.

7) A tall spindly alien with incredibly long arms and hypnotic GITD eyes.

8) A cyborg with interchangeable arms that have a variety of tools on the end in place of hands.

9) A tiny old man with a walking cane. His third eye sees the past and the future. He's a telepath and will drive you insane.

10) A tattooed human shapeshifter. He can make himself look like any other humanoid. He's also deadly with lasers and explosives.

The Prison would be on Europa, the sixth moon of Jupiter. An icy moon. It's ideal for a galactic Prison. It's devoid of life apart from microscopic creatures that live in the waters below the ice crust. Many try to escape from Europa prison but they've all failed so far...

There'd be modules that could be added on to the prison such as:

medical centre

exercise yard.

Governor's office

Guard room and armoury

docking bay.

There'd be non-armoured prison staff for such add-ons. In futuristic pseudo military uniforms with the classic space logo on them. these would be colour coded according to rank and occupation. Some may even be reformed criminals in lower ranking occupations. Some may be androids.

A larger long haul flight cruiser ship with detachable interchangeable prisoner pods that it can swap with the shuttle craft.

An alien vehicle or two that are used in attempts to break villains out of prison.

At first glance this might seem similar to Space police but I'm imagining something less cute with a harder edge that might appeal to 8-12 year olds. I've worked up some thumbnail sketches of what I have in mind which I've added to my minifig doodles gallery

Edited April 18, 2012 by Brickenhead-town-dweller

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I want to ask what do you think would happen if Lego re-did the classic space theme 1978-1988, with new parts but with the same colour scheme (blue/gray/white), updated uniforms (red/white/yellow/black/blue), new helmets, air tanks, walkie talkies, no opposing faction, emphasis on exploration, generic figures, no explicit weapons (you could imagine some of the components to be weapons just like the old series, but it's not intentionally designed to look like one.).

The reason I ask this is simple, is the Lego theme from my generation not good enough for todays kids? Is it assumed absolutely that it wouldn't be successful in competition to star wars and previous themes? Don't get me wrong I love the more violent looking themes and the idea of space marines like in the new cs7 minifig, but I'm just pondering can kids do without it? Will they automatically side with star wars? Can that same play experience I had for my classic space be transferred to todays children, or is it simply no longer a possibility cause it wouldn't be profitable.

Edited April 16, 2012 by BrickBucket

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I believe that updated classic space, sort of like the neo-classic space designs that many talented people have done, could be a good theme. However, sadly, it would be a less safe investment than Star Wars or themes with more action...

As a matter of a personal preference, I would like a few neo-classic sets, but I don't think that I'd go for a whole theme. I love classic space, but if I were to buy a set, I think that I would be much more attracted to the old ones, even if used.

Overall, I'd say that it wouldn't be as profitable or as much of a safe investment as other fresh ideas Lego might have. Just my 50 cents.

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I want to ask what do you think would happen if Lego re-did the classic space theme 1978-1988, with new parts but with the same colour scheme (red/white/yellow/black/blue), new helmets, air tanks, walkie talkies, no opposing faction, emphasis on exploration, generic figures, no explicit weapons (you could imagine some of the components to be weapons just like the old series, but it's not intentionally designed to look like one.).

The reason I ask this is simple, is the Lego theme from my generation not good enough for todays kids? Is it assumed absolutely that it wouldn't be successful in competition to star wars and previous themes? Don't get me wrong I love the more violent looking themes and the idea of space marines like in the new cs7 minifig, but I'm just pondering can kids do without it? Will they automatically side with star wars? Can that same play experience I had for my classic space be transferred to todays children, or is it simply no longer a possibility cause it wouldn't be profitable.

I think it is possible. Plus I think in many ways it would be desirable by a lot of parents. After all isn't that a large part of what has driven the sales of the City real space themed subjects for years? or even a ton of the regular Lego City sets (pretty much anything outside of the cops and robbers stuff)?

As far as classic space though? I can't help but think that that would be something more of a nostalgia trip. Something more targeted at the AFOL crowd. And as such might do best with an almost UCS type hyperdetailed update?

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Whilst I would like this I don't think a whole range nowadays with no bad guys would sell well. They could do something similar and ave it based around an exploration theme using similar designs for helmets to ADU and the CM etc. I still feel a potential for conflict would be needed or at least rival for kids nowadays to enjoy playing it. Whilst it may not have been the intention in t original it was the way my friends and I played with it. White as USA, red as USSR and when the yellow and blue came along they were seen as more neutral commercial guys.

Maybe they could redo many sets but they would need something, even if it was two rival exploration companies going after the same thing, say like Octan and Rock Raiders (Or Power Miners, or whoever will be running the CITY Mine?) but in space. Maybe a few aliens but not always seen as the bad guys. That could be fun and whilst not war based would still have the potential if that is what you wanted.